Luis Palau says cancer is at bay 2 years after terminal diagnosis; now passing ministry mantle

World-renowned evangelist Luis Palau revealed his cancer is now at bay, though doctors had given him months to live when he was diagnosed two years ago. And now he’s ready to fully pass the mantle of ministry to his sons.

At the top of 2018, the beloved minister made the unexpected announcement that he was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. Months later, in a Thanksgiving Day update, Palau testified that he was defying the odds and doing much better than doctors had anticipated. Now, two years after the diagnosis, Palau says his cancer is under control because of their care regiment.

In March 2018, Palau shared that after two months of chemotherapy, the doctors were amazed at the results of his CT scan and blood work. All tumors had shrunk by one-third and there was no new growth of the tumors. The results were so uncommon for someone with stage 4 cancer that Palau said the doctors were stunned.

Again, at the end of last year, "One of the tumors actually shrank slightly!" he wrote on his website.

"I'm actually feeling quite well. And the cancer seems to be kept at bay with the current protocol," he said.

Since then, the Luis Palau Association has carried on with multiple initiatives and in a new interview with CBN, the minister said it’s time for him to step out of the way and let his sons and those that follow continue on with the ministry freely.

He said moving aside and allowing Andrew and Kevin Palau to take up the ministry mantle will be "without relinquishing love and caring for my sons."

"You've got to make room for the next generation to freely minister – freely do," Palau said.

"Although you think, 'OK, we've transitioned.' Kevin is the president [and] Andrew is the better-known evangelist. But are you still in the way? And I've come to realize I am somewhat in the way."

Palau also has two other sons, Keith and Stephen, and he was filled with love and joy as he spoke of his children.

"I used to say when people would ask me years ago, I'd say, 'I hope my boys will put on my burial tomb: My father wasn't perfect, but he sure loved Jesus Christ,’" he described.

Although he continues to defy the odds, Palau said he is ready to go to Heaven whenever God sees fit.

"The only sad thing is leaving my wife and my kids and the team and a few of my best friends," he said. "But really, I'm ready to go. I have the peace of the Lord."

The Palau Association has collaborated with thousands of churches in hundreds of cities around the world. Palau has led millions into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ in over 75 nations.

An autobiographical movie on the life of the renowned preacher, "Palau the Movie,” was released last year. The film journeys through the life of Palau, revealing how a bad-tempered young street preacher goes on to impact the world for Jesus.